Amazing Facts about Budgies/Budgerigars

Budgies or budgerigars are among the most popular pet birds kept in the UK,and most of us know at least one person who keeps a couple at home. Here are some fun facts about budgies.

1. Budgies have a third eyelid that is not usually visible, but that is important for lubricating the eyes and keeping them clear of dirt and debris.
2. Historically, the budgerigar has gone by a variety of different names in different parts of the world, including the canary parrot, shell parrot, zebra parrot, warbling grass parakeet, and undulated parakeet.
3. Budgies have a very high resting respiration rate, ranging between 65-85 breaths per minute.
4. The heart rate of the budgie is also extremely fast and cannot be monitored by listening in the normal way, as it beats over 300 times per minute!.
5. The original budgies were greeny-yellow in colour, and from this, other colours developed. The second colour was all-yellow, which was bred from a genetic mutation. The first blue budgie wasn’t seen until 1878!.
6. Budgies can move and see out of each eye independently of the other one, which is known as having monocular vision.
7. A budgie can have up to 3,000 feathers in total across their whole body.
8. Budgies grind their beaks when they are happy and relaxed, similar to cats and purring!.
9. The bones of budgies (and most other birds that are capable of flight) are hollow, and filled with air sacs rather than bone marrow.
10. Budgies have more vertebrae in their necks than humans do, allowing them to swivel their heads up to 180 degrees, or allow them to face backwards!.
11. Budgies can only afford to lose between 10-12 drops of blood before their blood loss becomes fatal.
12. Budgies do not have a bladder, and so their urine and faeces pass out of the same entrance. Budgies do not urinate! Budgies also poop as often as every twenty minutes!
13. Budgie’s range of hearing ranges from 400-20,000 Hz, and budgies can remember sequences of sounds, and sometimes mimic them.
14. Budgies have an incredibly acute vision in terms of the number of images their brains can process at a time; budgies can register over 150 images per second, compared with just 16 for humans!
15. Budgies can be taught to count up to three, and do very basic sums that involve just those three numbers! So if you put three treats in your hand in front of your budgie and only offer them two, they will probably know that they are being short changed!.